Startup Funding in India: Trends and Insights for 2025

Startup funding in India has seen a notable decline in April, amounting to $745 million, a significant drop from the $1.76 billion secured in January. This sharp decrease is largely attributed to a reduction in substantial deals and an increasing focus of investors on public markets. Data further suggests that startup funding has remained relatively flat during the first four months of 2025.

According to various sources, Indian startups garnered a total of $745 million through 116 deals in April. The growth and late-stage funding segments contributed $562 million from 23 deals, while early-stage funding raised $186 million from 77 deals. It should also be noted that 16 rounds of funding did not disclose their amounts.

Month-over-Month Trend

April exhibited a month-over-month funding drop of 34.65% when compared to March, which reported $1.14 billion. Year-on-year, this marks the lowest amount of funding recorded for April in the last five years.

Top 10 Growth-Stage Deals

In the realm of growth and late-stage funding, Spinny, an e-commerce platform for used cars, raised $131 million in Series E funding, followed by Juspay, which secured $60 million in Series D. Other significant deals included Rebel Foods with $25 million in Series G, Tonbo Imaging at $21 million in Series D, and Uniqus Consultech at $20 million in Series C.

Top 10 Early-Stage Deals

In April 2025, multiple early-stage startups achieved considerable funding. Kult, a beauty tech platform, raised $20 million, and Aerem, focused on clean energy, secured $12 million. RapidClaims, a healthtech startup, garnered $11 million, while Xindus, a cross-border logistics venture, secured $10 million. Edtech startup SigIQ.ai also raised $10 million. Other notable deals comprised Optimized Electrotech with $6 million and The Bear House, a men’s fashion brand, at $5.8 million.

Mergers and Acquisitions

The Indian startup ecosystem recorded key mergers and acquisitions in April 2025, with Delhivery acquiring Ecom Express for $166 million, the largest deal for the month. Findi purchased fintech company BANKIT for $18.7 million, while Accenture and Ampivo AI carried out strategic acquisitions in deeptech and AI. In edtech, Arihant Academy acquired Carmel Classes for $1.2 million, and Creativefuel took over MissMalini Entertainment for $0.69 million. Other relevant deals included CARS24 acquiring Team-BHP, Jaipuria Group’s acquisition of ClearDekho, and NABARD purchasing 24*7 Moneyworks Consulting.

City and Segment-wise Deals

Bengaluru emerged as the leading city for startup funding in April, raising $268.94 million across 35 deals, while Delhi-NCR followed with $253.44 million from 31 deals. Mumbai ranked third with $122.96 million across 15 deals. Pune and Chennai recorded funding amounts of $35.67 million and $29.84 million from 7 and 8 deals, respectively. Collectively, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR accounted for over 70% of the total funding raised during the month.

Fintech led the segment-wise funding chart in April, amassing $189.11 million from 9 deals, followed by e-commerce with $64.88 million from 17 deals. The foodtech sector raised $44.84 million through 13 transactions, healthtech secured $32.82 million across 12 deals, and edtech brought in $21.66 million from 7 deals. Notably, fintech accounted for more than a quarter of the total funding for the month, demonstrating sustained investor interest in financial services.

Series-wise Deals

In terms of deal volume, seed funding led in April with 38 deals, trailed by Series A with 24, and pre-Series A and pre-seed with 18 and 11 deals, respectively. Series A funding raised $240 million, making up 32% of the total funding for the month.

Layoffs, Key Hires, and Departures

Zomato, now a public entity, recorded the largest layoff, reducing its workforce by 600 employees. Gupshup and Zopper also reduced their teams by 200 and 100 employees, respectively.
In April, the startup ecosystem faced significant leadership changes, with five senior executives, including CEOs, MDs, CTOs, co-founders, and a Group CFO, stepping down. Concurrently, over 30 key executive roles were filled, indicating a period of transition.

Trends

Venture capitalists have increasingly stepped in. Despite a flat funding landscape in the final week of April 2025, the $4.2 billion raised by India-focused VC firms such as A91 Partners, Accel, and Bessemer signifies growing investor confidence. Additionally, Peak XV is set to raise between $1.2 to $1.4 billion, hinting at a potential uptick in funding momentum in the upcoming months.

Startups like Urban Company and Ather Energy have scaled back their IPO sizes due to market conditions and investor hesitance. Urban Company, initially planning a Rs 3,000 crore IPO, has reduced it to Rs 1,900 crore. Similarly, Ather Energy has trimmed its IPO size from Rs 3,100 crore to Rs 2,981 crore.

In the edtech sector, startups are attempting to rebound despite challenges. Unacademy aims for profitability in the near future, while PhysicsWallah is preparing to file its IPO papers soon and is considering acquisitions in the UPSC preparation space.

Many startups have recently secured funding rounds but often at flat or reduced valuations. Spinny, for instance, raised $131 million maintaining its previous valuation, while Euler Motors also retained its valuation in its Series D round. Conversely, content platform Pratilipi experienced a significant 60% decline in its valuation.